


Where the Lines Overlap

by Skyshadow3246, Wolfloner



Series: Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces [29]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Feels, Loki is a Good Dad, M/M, Magic, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, POV Loki (Marvel), POV Tony Stark, Parent Tony Stark, Parenthood, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sorry Not Sorry, Tony Stark Has Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 17:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19067263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyshadow3246/pseuds/Skyshadow3246, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfloner/pseuds/Wolfloner
Summary: Five moments of Tony and Loki trying to navigate this whole parenthood and family thing."What else does Fen call you?""Mostly really rude names that your Dad probably doesn't want you repeating." He faltered as soon as the words left his mouth. Was that true? Did Loki care what sort of language his kids used? He certainly had never tried to curb Fenrir's tongue. Of course, he might have just decided that wasn't a fight worth having with his son.





	Where the Lines Overlap

**Author's Note:**

> Because I couldn't resist being Extra.  
> Part 2 of FBiNS officially begins today, on the one year anniversary of when I uploaded [The Gift.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14828927)  
> I hope everyone enjoys the next 300k+.

_Call me over, and tell me how_  
_Well you got so far_  
_Never making a single sound_  
_I'm not used to it_  
_But I can learn_  
_There's nothing to it_  
_I've never been happier_  
_Never been happier_

—Where the Lines Overlap, _Paramore_

  


The window blinds were still shuttered when Tony woke up. 3 am. Loki was still asleep, unsurprisingly, and didn't so much as twitch when Tony crawled out of bed and quietly pulled on some sweatpants before leaving the room.

He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he felt _awake,_ and with that came an urge to move. He was halfway across the living room heading towards the kitchen before he realized he wasn't the only one awake.

There, sitting cross-legged and staring out of the windows at the ocean, was Váli.

Tony swallowed, feeling immediately uncertain about how to approach him. "Hey, Váli. Can't sleep?"

"I've been asleep," his voice croaked, and he coughed.

Not knowing what else to do, Tony crossed the space between them and sat down beside him. "Yeah. But you've been through a lot, you need the sleep."

In the dim light, Váli's eyes appeared white again. It was no less unnerving this time. "You should sleep too."

Tony hummed. "Maybe," he shrugged. "Hey, would you like some tea or something? For your throat?"

Váli gave him a considering look. "Yes, please," he said after a moment.

He stood and held his hand out to help Váli up. He was steadier on his feet than he had been the day before, but his small hand still clung to Tony's as though he was on uneven ground.

"I won't let you fall," Tony promised without thinking about it.

Váli just blinked at him in return. "What's your name?"

Oh, right, they hadn't been properly introduced yet. Fuck, everything about this situation had to just be bizarre for the poor kid. "Tony Stark. You can call me Tony if you like. That's what Hel and Loki call me. And Fenrir, sometimes," he added.

"What else does Fen call you?"

"Mostly really rude names that your Dad probably doesn't want you repeating." He faltered as soon as the words left his mouth. Was that true? Did Loki care what sort of language his kids used? He certainly had never tried to curb Fenrir's tongue. Of course, he might have just decided that wasn't a fight worth having with his son.

But Váli had a small smile playing at his lips. "Fen needs his sleep, too," he whispered.

"Yeah," Tony agreed. Fenrir had also been through a lot. Too much, from the half-explained stories he'd heard.

"I kind of need my hand to make tea," he said apologetically. "How do you feel about sitting at the table?"

Váli looked over at the table and nodded. He didn't complain when Tony helped him into a chair and made sure he was secure there.

Tony brought a kettle of water to a boil and let it sit for a minute before pouring it over two tea bags. He generally wasn't one for tea, but hey: solidarity. Along with the mugs he brought a small plate to the table so that they had somewhere to set their tea bags after they were done steeping.

While he watched Váli sip at the tea, he also took a moment to really _look_ at the kid. He was thin, bordering on emaciated. His bright red hair was long and tangled. Although he couldn't see it, he wouldn't be surprised if parts of it were matted from lack of care.

"We should probably do something about your hair," he commented, reaching out to touch a lank strand. Váli flinched away from his touch and Tony immediately pulled back. "Sh-. Sorry, sorry."

Váli took an unsteady breath and stared down into the mug. "No, it's your right."

 _What?_ "No, kid, it's not. If you don't want me to touch you then—"

"You bested me in battle," Váli continued, and how could an 8-year-old manage to sound so resigned?

 _He's not actually 8,_ Tony reminded himself. Which did nothing to ease the knot his stomach was trying to twist itself into. "So?"

"So if you wish to cut away my hair, that's your right."

Ok. That was _probably_ better than what Tony had been thinking. But he was also 99% certain that he'd stumbled into some cultural thing that he didn't understand. He tried to think of anything Loki had ever said about the importance of hair in Asgardian culture but came up blank.

 _Whatever._ Anything that made Váli that upset was something he was going to avoid doing without good reason. "I'm not gonna cut your hair," he said carefully, waiting for Váli's reaction before continuing. Pale eyes met his and it looked like Váli wasn't certain if he could believe him. "I just meant that we should try to brush it out or something."

Váli finally relaxed and finished his tea. "That would be nice," he said. "After I get some more sleep?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah. Sleep first, hair brushing later."

When they started back across the room, Váli was leaning on him more heavily. "Want me to carry you?" he asked.

He shook his head. "It's not much more. I can manage."

Tony had no idea how Váli had managed to get out of the bed without waking Hel or Fenrir, but they didn't manage it while getting him back.

The three of them were quick to reorganize themselves into a comfortable pile. Well, he supposed it was comfortable for them, at least.

"Goodnight," he said softly at the doorway.

"Tony," Hel poked her head up for a moment. "Thank you."

"Mm, seconded," Fenrir rumbled. "But by the Nine, find a sound-deadening spell."

Tony choked on his reply and could only shoot them an apologetic look. "We're on it."

He slunk quietly back to his room and managed to hold in the small fit of giggles until he’d shut the door behind him. Not that he expected it would do much to keep Fenrir (and possibly Hel) from actually hearing him. But at least he could say he made an effort.

Loki groaned and sunk deeper under the covers.

“Sorry,” he whispered, crawling back into the bed with him. He still felt awake and filled with a need to _do,_ but if Loki was awake…

“Why are you back?” Loki asked into the room.

Tony just replied with a questioning noise.

“Usually when you get up in the middle of the night, you wind up in your lab or the gym. Not back in bed.”

“I got to the living room and saw that Váli was awake.”

That got Loki’s attention. He turned over to better track Tony’s expression. “Is he alright?”

“Honestly? No, I don’t think so,” he admitted. At Loki’s shift to sit up, he quickly amended with, “I don’t think there’s anything _new_ wrong. He’s just been through… A lot. Too much.” He reached up and stroked Loki’s cheek with his thumb. “He’s back in bed with Fenrir and Hel now. He’s safe.”

It took Loki another few seconds before he let himself relax back onto the bed. “Why was he up?”

“I think he’s sick of sleeping.”

“Tough.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I told him.”

Loki gave him _a look._

“He doesn’t know just how little that means coming from me yet,” Tony smiled despite himself.

And then his mind wandered back to the painful look of resignation on Váli’s face when he’d reached towards him. The kid had been oddly trusting of a complete stranger until that moment. But as soon as Tony assured him that he wasn’t going to hurt him—or cut his hair—he’d calmed back down immediately, and that easy trust had returned.

He briefly wondered what that feeling might be like.

“What’s wrong?” Loki asked.

“Nothing. Well.” He chewed on his lip for a moment. “I think I might have freaked out Váli a little bit,” he explained. “We were having tea and talking,” Loki expression shifted from concern to warm amusement at that. “And I mentioned that we should probably try to brush out his hair or something.”

“And?”

“Except I didn’t word it like that. He thought I was going to cut his hair at first, and… God, he looked so fucking defeated when I reached towards him.”

“Ah,” was all Loki said for a long moment.

Not content with Loki’s silence, Tony barreled on. “When I explained what I meant, he was ok again and everything but… What’s the deal with hair?” He frowned. “And please tell me it was _just_ his hair he was worried about. And not… he said that since we “bested him in battle” we had the right to do what we wanted. The fuck does that _mean?”_

“Technically it wasn’t just hair he could have been concerned about,” Loki said carefully. Haltingly.

Oh, good. He’d been right and this _was_ some sort of weird space viking bullshit. “You’re gonna elaborate, right?”

Loki sighed softly. “On Asgard and Vanaheim it is customary to shave the heads of warriors you have defeated, but not killed. If you weren’t killed in battle, you were taken in as a servant or slave, and the length of your hair was a symbol of that defeat.”

Tony only sighed. Voicing his internal, _“What the actual fuck?”_ would be more likely to simply offend Loki than actually get any further information. After all, it was what it was. Still, he couldn’t help but run a hand through his own short hair.

“I’m not your servant,” he muttered without thinking.

The god chuckled and pushed himself up on his arms so that he could lean over Tony and kiss him softly. “Nor would I want you to be,” he assured him.

“Fenrir wears his hair short.”

“Fenrir’s a _wolf,_ Tony.” As if that was all the explanation his comment needed.

Tony rolled his eyes, accepting that he wasn’t going to get a proper answer. Instead, he ran his hand through Loki’s hair. “Do the braids mean anything?”

“Aside from their aesthetic value, they make maintaining cleanliness easier,” he explained.

“But you don’t wear it braided now?”

Loki managed to make his next exhale sound annoyed. Apparently, he hadn’t been expecting Tony to get stuck on this topic.

“It’s a time-consuming endeavor that I haven’t really…” Loki faltered for a moment, and Tony only waited for him to decide what he wanted to say. “With… everything. I haven’t felt like expending the time or energy.”

“Couldn’t you just use your sorcery?”

Loki huffed at him. “Technically.”

Tony hummed when Loki didn’t continue that train of thought, or offer a reason for why he hadn’t just used his sorcery for that task.

“Want me to braid it for you?” he offered.

Loki’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “What? Have you ever even braided hair before?”

“Sure,” he shrugged. “I mean, nothing as intricate as what I’ve seen from your family, but I braided Pepper’s hair a few times.” Loki’s expression remained unconvinced. “Plus, I spend a lot of time braiding together cables and wires and such. If I can manage that, I’m pretty sure I won’t mess up your hair.”

The god dragged his fingers through his own long hair. “I’ll consider your offer.”

Well. _That_ was interesting. Oddly formal Loki hadn’t made an appearance in quite some time. Which probably meant he was poking at something more deeply seated than he’d been assuming. Naturally.

Fucking space viking bullshit.

“I promise to take good care of you, Your Majesty,” Tony teased gently.

The effect was immediate. Loki’s eyes went wide, first with something approaching shock, then something closer to lust. But Tony didn’t get much of a chance to parse out the emotions behind Loki’s expressions before Loki was kissing him again. It was still soft and gentle, but not anywhere near as chaste as before.

Tony chuckled into the affection.

“What?”

“We have to figure out that spell or I’m worried Fenrir might really consider killing us.”

Loki nipped at his bottom lip. “Killing you, maybe. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Yeah, but you like having me around.”

The god smiled against his mouth. “I’ll make finding it a higher priority.”

 

* * *

 

Tony was determined to stay _present_ and _useful,_ damn it. Nevermind that he really had no idea what he was doing when it came to children—especially tiny gods that could probably destroy him with a single thought.

But really, as a general rule, things seemed to be going well. After a bit of back and forth (and one very imaginative threat from Fenrir) Bruce was allowed to look over Váli and start to try to formulate what "normal" biorhythms looked like for him.

Tony and Loki met with Bruce one afternoon to discuss his findings. As far as they could tell, Váli's health was holding steady, and possibly even improving.

"Of course," Bruce pointed out, "all of my data is presumptive, at best. He's not human and he's not Asgardian. So the results I have from studying Thor's biology aren't going to be terribly useful here."

Tony snorted. "You've been studying Thor's biology, huh?"

Bruce just sighed at him. "Don't be crude."

"I didn't say anything untoward, you just jumped to conclusions."

"Could you two focus?" Loki snapped. "Vanir and Asgardian biologies are quite similar."

"Similar enough to monitor his health based on things like Thor's pulse and temperature?"

"Why do you know—"

"Because I've been living with the Asgardians, Tony. And they don't have as many healers as they once did, so I'm trying to learn what I can."

Loki let out an annoyed growl, and Tony shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"To your question, Bruce, I'm… not certain. As he's only half Vanir…"

Bruce nodded. "That was another issue I wanted to bring up. I don't have any data about giants, and my only real source of information is you. And your children, if they would be willing."

"You want to study us?"

"Only for the sake of having a more complete data set to compare Váli against."

Loki took a measured step forward, and even Tony was a bit intimidated by the icy tone of his voice. "You're lying."

Bruce only crossed his arms and returned Loki's stare. "Fine. While I do want to study you to help Váli, I'm also curious about the biology of _fucking aliens._ Or am I not allowed to help unless my motivations are purely altruistic?"

They were quiet for several long moments. Moments that Tony spent wondering if he was going to have to throw himself between the two of them to stop an outbreak of violence.

"What sort of things would you need to monitor?" Loki finally asked, relaxing his posture in a way that felt entirely calculated.

Bruce was slower to relax, but when he did it looked genuine. "Mostly just really basic things right now. Pulse, respiration, body temperature, although if you wouldn't mind giving me a blood sample…" At Loki's narrowed eyes Bruce cleared his throat. "Or not, of course, that would be completely optional."

"You can't have any of my blood unless it becomes necessary," Loki decided. "But I'm willing to let you study the rest. You're welcome to ask Hel and Fenrir for their cooperation as well."

Tony hoped Loki wouldn't be too offended by the way Bruce's face lit up with excitement at having permission to learn something new.

And shit, why had he never considered testing some of this stuff with Loki? He had access to pretty much everyone else's basic health stats.

"Hey uh, I had a thought," Tony interrupted. "How accurate are Bruce's readings going to be if you're looking like, well… this," he gestured at Loki's body.

Loki swore, and Tony thought he might recognize a few of the words, even if he didn't know what they meant.

Tony continued before Bruce could question exactly what Tony meant. "So, here's a suggestion: Bruce, you tell me what all you need to know, and I'll get the data for you." He fixed Bruce with his best, _"Please don't fight me on this,"_ face.

* * *

Despite Bruce's obvious curiosity and disappointment, he didn't fight Tony and just wrote down what he wanted to know.

"So, the good news," Tony started once they were down in his lab, one of the few places he _knew_ he could lock down and keep from being interrupted, "is that we can actually have JARVIS monitor all of this, which will be way less invasive and cumbersome."

"What's the bad news?" Loki asked, fidgeting with a spark of magic between his hands.

"Well, unless there's something you're not telling me, you're gonna have to be blue in order to get accurate readings."

The sparked roared to life as a ball of flames for a second before disappearing altogether. "For how long?"

"I dunno. A few days? The idea is to try to figure out your base numbers. I mean we can just grab readings periodically, but that won't get an accurate estimate of your resting metrics."

Loki sank down onto one of the benches, staring down at the floor.

"Sorry. Look, forget I said anything, periodic readings are fine, we'll make it work. You don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable—"

"It's not only my comfort I'm worried about," Loki told him quietly. "You don't understand how…" he trailed off.

"How?" Tony prompted cautiously.

"Váli will be terrified of me."

"He's fine with Hel and Fenrir, and he knows they're Giants, right?"

"He believes them to be half-giants," he corrected. "And that I'm Asgardian."

"Ok, but still. He's ok with them being half-giant, right?"

"Half Storm Giant."

Tony pulled a chair closer and sat down across from him. "And Storm Giants are more palatable than Frost Giants?"

Loki nodded. "They were considered the most civilized of the Giants."

Something unpleasant curled up in Tony's stomach. "Which actually just means they were the most similar to Asgardians, right?"

"Right."

Tony blew out a long breath. "You know it'll come out eventually, right? You didn't even manage to hide it from me for all that long."

Loki looked up to glare at him.

"Sorry, but what I mean is that soon it'll go from being something that you haven't figured out how to bring up, to something you're hiding from him."

The god rolled his eyes. "You got that from a tv show."

"Hey, a good line is a good line. And, more importantly, it's true." He dragged his hand through his hair. "Look, I can't tell you how to parent. But I know you know how bad it feels for someone to lie to you about who you are."

"Yes," he admitted. "But I… not yet."

Tony nodded. He could still remember the gist of Loki's words when Tony had first seen him as a Jötunn. He had claimed they were monsters, that Asgardians told tales about how they slaughtered indiscriminately.

Had Loki and Sigyn told Váli those stories? Had he grown up as terrified of frozen monsters as Tony had been of the possibility of something lurking under his bed?

He reached out and took Loki's hand. "However you want to handle this," he told him, "I'll support you."

 

* * *

 

**Loki**

Three weeks had passed since they had retrieved Váli. And despite Fenrir's repeated comments about how he would soon return to "his floor", there had yet to be a single night where he wasn't curled up with Váli while the younger was falling asleep.

Hel, on the other hand, had actually moved back downstairs. Loki suspected that it was at least partially an attempt to create an emotional distance so that she could return to Helheim periodically. But he wasn't willing to bring it up.

To his absolute delight, Váli was managing to stay awake for longer and longer stretches of time. He was still sleeping during the day, but that had started to feel more like naps than anything else.

So, when Váli came up to him one afternoon with a complaint of, "I'm bored," Loki wasn't terribly surprised.

"A whole new realm to learn about and you're bored," Loki teased, only to receive an unimpressed look in return. "Alright, what would you like to do?"

Fenrir's tail thumped against the ground and he perked up, "We could go for a run," he suggested. "Stretch our legs, feel the wind in our fur."

Váli crossed his arms over himself. "I don't have fur," he said quietly.

"Fur, hair, whatever."

"Fen." Tony's voice was gentle, but it still caught Fenrir's attention.

"What?" He blinked at the human for a moment, before following his gaze back to Váli. "Oh." Fenrir's head dropped. "Sorry."

Váli shrugged. "Actually, Faðir, I… Can you teach me a new spell?"

Loki couldn't have schooled his smile if he'd had to, despite the hesitance in Váli's voice. He always loved the opportunity to share his skills with his children. And Tony's intensely curious expression didn't help his enthusiasm.

Fenrir huffed and laid back down on the floor. "Dull," he muttered.

Váli's eyes lit up in a way Loki hadn't seen since before… Although Váli had always been the quietest of his children, he'd never backed down from a challenge, perceived or otherwise.

"You're just jealous," Váli told him, holding out this hand and summoning forth a ball of fire. "Because you can't control Seiðr as I can."

"I could if I wanted to," Fenrir retorted.

"Prove it." In the next instant Váli's entire body had ignited, like flash paper that had met a spark.

Tony flinched back with a yelped, "Holy fuck!"

All of Loki's concern about how Odin's curse had affected Váli's Seiðr vanished as he watched the fire flicker over his body without so much as singeing his clothing or hair.

Fenrir narrowed his eyes at the display. "Show off."

The flames died down and extinguished, leaving behind an air of barely contained delight and enthusiasm.

"Are you alright, Love?" Loki asked his startled human.

"Were those actual flames, or an illusion?" Tony leaned forward, but faint undercurrent of wariness.

"Actual flames," Váli told him, happy for an audience. "Illusions are hard."

"They are?"

Váli nodded, then glanced back at Loki.

"Weaving things into being is one thing. Making people _think_ that something exists is more complicated. The second involves manipulating people's senses to believe something that isn't true."

Tony frowned at Loki's explanation. "You manipulate my senses?"

"How did you think illusions worked?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

Loki grinned and summoned forth a copy of himself to drape over the back of Tony's chair. "Fooling your eyes is easy enough," the copy explained. "And humans have a pitiful sense of smell in my experience, so I don't have to put much thought into that."

Tony stared at the illusion.

"But your sense of touch is harder, more complex," he hooked a finger under Tony's collar and tugged him forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Then it disappeared.

"Ok, but you… he… it? It definitely just pulled on my necklace."

"Are you certain?" Loki smirked.

"Y-yes?" Tony didn't _look_ certain, though, and reached up to touch where the illusion had kissed him.

"You're being mean to your Atrëlv," Váli observed.

"Yes, I am," he admitted easily. "It's too much fun to resist."

Tony frowned at him. "Don't teach your kid that it's fun to be mean to people."

"Don't be mean to people," Loki said with the flattest affect he could manage. "Unless they have it coming."

"Loki!"

"Or they're your beloved mate and you know they can handle a bit of teasing."

Tony groaned but Váli giggled at them.

Loki grinned, more confident in Váli's understanding of when it was appropriate to mess with people than Tony seemed to be.

"What sort of spell would you like to learn? Something fun, or something useful?"

"Most spells can be both," Váli pointed out.

"That's true," Loki agreed. "What about something Tony can help with?"

"What's Tony going to do to help?" Fenrir asked. "He doesn't understand sorcery."

"No, but he understands gravity exceedingly well," Loki praised. "And understanding something is the first step to being able to manipulate it."

Váli looked confused. "What am I going to do with gravity?"

"Well, let's say you wanted to change an object's relative gravity. Either so that no one could use it, or," he reached over and tapped on the coffee table. "So that you could make it float."

"Are you fucking telling me that your sorcery had a basis in _physics?"_ Tony asked.

"What is it you humans say? Any sufficiently advanced science will look like magic?"

"No, that's not the quote," Tony replied, still staring at the floating table. "But it's close enough."

Váli crossed under the table and gave Tony a hopeful look.

"Right, ok. What does he need to know about gravity?"

* * *

Ever a quick study, it took only a few hours (during which Fenrir eventually grumbled and wandered off to find something else to do) for Váli to grasp the basic concepts that Tony was explaining well enough to affect small objects.

Apparently making things heavier was easier for him, and Tony was grinning when he realized that there was no way he was going to be able to move the notebook Váli was practicing with.

"The spell can also be used on living beings," Loki explained. "But I would recommend extreme caution as, well, here, I'll show you." He retrieved an apple from the kitchen and held it out. "If you don't control it just right," the apple warped and twisted, torn apart as its gravity shifted unevenly.

Tony and Váli both stared at the remains of the apple with wide eyes.

"Of course, that's actually quite useful if you're under attack and need to defend yourself."

"Oh my God," Tony muttered.

"I'll stick with things that aren't alive for now," Váli said. Then, "But I'll remember that. Just in case."

 

* * *

 

**Tony**

Tony wasn't sure just how long he'd been reading when he realized that Váli wasn't just in the room with him, but actively staring at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Faðir says you have magic. But I didn't know mortals could use Seiðr."

"Uh," Tony set his book to the side. "I think most can't? But Loki did… Honestly, I'm still not sure what he did. But now I can use magic."

Váli's eyes lit up. "Can you show me?"

"Honestly, I'd love to. Except I have no idea how to do it intentionally. I've only done it on my own once."

"You don't know how?" Váli looked completely lost by the idea.

"Nope, sorry."

Váli blinked at him. "Well, what happened the time you did it?"

Tony cleared his throat and looked away. "We were fighting you, actually. You tried to curse Loki, and I just… got in the way."

The kid nodded. "Oh, I remember that."

He blinked. "You do?"

"Yeah. I remember most of the stuff that happened when I was cursed."

Tony let out a long breath and returned his gaze to Váli's face. "Well, yeah. That was the one time. I can do some kind of ward-shield-thing."

"Ward-shield-thing," Váli repeated, amusement coloring his tone. "Want me to help you?"

"Help me?"

"Mmhmm! You just need to practice! And I can practice something too, so we both win."

"What do you need to practice?" Tony asked. Váli looked completely earnest and excited to help, but he'd lived with Loki long enough to learn to start asking for details before agreeing to things—usually, at least.

Váli's smile widened. "I'm really good at fire-based magic and spells," he explained, "but I really struggle with water-based things. Especially compared to what Narfi can do, which is awful because he's terrible at—" Váli cut himself off, apparently realizing what he was saying.

Tony's heart clenched at how quickly Váli's expression changed, and it felt like all the light had been sucked out of the room.

But before Tony could figure out what to say—what _could_ he say?—the boy shook himself. "Sorry. I…" Váli swallowed before continuing. "I was thinking I could throw snowballs at you."

"Váli, do you want to talk about—"

"Will talking change what happened?"

"...No."

"Then no. I don't want to talk about anything. Or think about it. I can't fix it, and I don't want to make myself sad wishing that I could."

Tony wanted to tell him that talking about it could help with how he thought about what happened. And that it wasn't healthy to bottle up his emotions and refuse to deal with them. But, well, pot, meet kettle.

"Alright," was all he said instead. "You want to throw snowballs at me and I'll try to block them, right?"

"Right!" Váli perked back up, but it wasn't with the same sort of enthusiasm as before.

This was preferable to Váli locking himself away at least.

"Ok, let's do it." He glanced around the room. "Not in here, though. Let's go downstairs to the gym. Fewer breakables down there." Or, fewer things that could be damaged by wayward snow, at least.

Váli really did look properly excited when they got to the gym, and they wound up spending close to half an hour walking around the room while Tony explained what things were and how they worked.

"It's a bag for hitting?" Váli asked, looking over the punching bag.

"Yep. New and improved, after Peter broke the last one." And wow, that had been a hell of a thing to wake up to. Especially after all the work he'd put in to making something that could stand up to Steve's strength.

"Who's Peter?"

"Uh, you fought him, too. The smaller guy in red, lots of jumping around and shooting webs."

Váli nodded with recognition. "Oh. I'd like to see him again."

Tony smiled, picturing how they'd interact. "I'm sure he'd like to see you, too."

"Can I hit it?" Váli asked, looking back at the punching bag.

"Sure, go for it."

Loki had definitely never taught the poor kid how to fight. At least not in hand-to-hand combat. Which honestly raised a few questions that he shelved away for later.

"Wow, that was terrible." His teasing was rewarded with a snowball to the face.

Tony sputtered and brushed the snow from his face and shirt. "How was I supposed to block that?"

"You weren't."

He mirrored Váli's grin. "Alright, fair enough. But before the next one, really, how do I block them?"

"With your magic." He watched as Váli formed another snowball between his hands.

"Right, I get that, but _how?_ What do you do when you're using magic?"

Váli looked down at the snowball consideringly. "I just… do it?"

"Do you think about anything or…"

"Not really? Or, I don't think so. I mean, with spells, yeah, but just magic? It's just part of me."

Huh. Maybe Tony had been thinking about this wrong. Loki had explained that magic was innate. Built-in, so to speak. He'd been thinking of the shield as something he could _do,_ not something that was just part of him. An extension of himself.

"Ok, I think I'm ready."

Five snowballs—and five direct hits—later, Váli looked both amused, but also a little pitying. "Wow, that was terrible."

"Yeah, yeah," Tony grumbled, wondering if that last snowball might not leave a bruise.

"I can't tell if you're actually trying or not."

"I am. I'm thinking about wanting to block the snowballs and—"

"Well, stop it."

Tony blinked. "Stop what?"

"Stop thinking about it and just do it."

"That's not how it works."

"Yes it is!" Tony barely had time to register that the thing hurtling at his face wasn't another snowball, but was instead fucking _fire._

He brought his arms up and closed his eyes, expecting the worst, but the fire never hit him.

"Told you so."

When Tony opened his eyes, he realized that Váli hadn't just pulled the fire back at the last second. There was a thin layer of blue… well, magic, he supposed, between them.

"Goddamn, that worked," he whispered. Then, "Hey, what if that _hadn't_ worked?"

Váli shrugged. "Then you'd have been hit with a fireball, I guess." At Tony's affronted look, he continued. "I'd have put you out."

The barrier between them faded. "Ok, for the record, just because that worked doesn't mean that throwing fireballs at people is alright."

His chastisement was met with an unconvinced look. "But it worked."

"Yeah, but if it hadn't I could have been really hurt."

"You weren't, though. You're fine."

Tony sighed and shook his head. "Fine, nevermind. We'll come back to that later. But right now, no more fireballs, ok?"

Váli summoned a snowball. "But you want to keep practicing, right?"

"Yeah, let's keep practicing."

By the time Váli decided he was bored (Tony suspected he was actually tired, but he wasn't going to push him to admit it.) Tony could manage to block over 50% of the snowballs. Which, considering that he'd started at 0, he thought was a pretty great improvement.

Váli was less impressed by his progress. "If you can't do it half the time, it's not very useful, is it?"

"You know, I don't remember Loki being so judgmental when we were teaching you that gravity thing."

"Because that was a spell, and that's different," Váli insisted as the elevator opened back into the penthouse.

Loki gave them a confused look as they entered the living room. "Why are you wet?"

"I was teaching Tony to use magic!" Váli chirped.

Loki's eyebrows raised. "You were?"

"Yep. He's not very good."

Tony scoffed. "I'm a lot better than I was. I just had to get hit with a bunch of snowballs to get there."

"I see."

"Yeah, so, I'm gonna go change. While I'm doing that, would you explain to Váli why throwing fire at people isn't ok?"

Loki looked down at his son. "Why did you throw fire at Tony?"

"He wasn't taking the snowballs seriously and couldn't block them with his magic."

"But the fire worked?"

"Yep!"

Loki actually looked him in the eye when he said, "Seems reasonable to me."

 

* * *

 

"Fuck you two are adorable, do you know that?" Tony asked upon finding Loki and Váli curled up on the couch, watching a movie.

Loki's eyes drifted from the tv to look at him for a moment before his attention returned to what they were watching.

It was bright and colorful and Tony was 95% sure it was something from Disney. He settled down on Loki's other side and tried to catch on to what was happening in the film.

He'd just managed to get properly comfortable when Váli moved, crawling over Loki's lap to squeeze himself between the two of them.

For a moment Tony was mystified. Váli had never said or done anything before to make him think he had any issues with his and Loki's easy affection. But then Váli was leaning against Tony's shoulder and he understood. Váli wanted the comfort of being tucked against both of them.

Loki didn't look away from the movie or even acknowledge the change in position, but he was definitely smiling about it.

"What are we watching?" Tony asked quietly.

"Moana."

He'd been right about it being a Disney movie. How had he not seen this one yet? He was really falling behind on his movie watching. His pop culture references had to be suffering for it, too. From the way Loki was humming along with the songs, he was pretty sure this wasn't his first viewing of it.

Tony could understand watching it more than once, though. The songs were catchy and the story was fun. But part way through the movie he was distracted by a soft sniffling sound from Váli.

When he looked down he saw that Váli was crying near silently. The sort of crying that wasn't for any sort of attention, but just because he couldn't stop himself.

He was confused again, because nothing was happening in the film that came off to him at particularly upsetting. And there was no way that Loki hadn't noticed, so why hadn't he said anything?

"You ok, Vee?"

Váli started to nod, but then shook his head. "This movie makes me think of Narfi," he admitted in a whisper.

"Do you want to turn it off?"

He shook his head again. "I like the movie."

That was when Tony realized that Loki was holding one of Váli's hands in his own, his thumb tracing circles over the back of his son's hand. Loki _had_ noticed, then. And he hadn't said anything because he'd already known what had upset Váli.

Had the two of them watched the movie together before? Was this some part of how Váli was working through the loss of his brother?

* * *

That night, after Váli had gone to sleep and Fenrir had wandered off to do whatever it was he did when he left (Loki apparently knew, but would only share that Fenrir wasn't causing any trouble), Tony found himself looking up a plot summary of Moana to fill in the parts that he'd missed.

"Why does Moana remind Váli of Narfi?" He asked after Loki sprawled out on the couch and pillowed his head on Tony's lap. "The other day he said something about Narfi being good at water-based magic?"

"He talked to you about Narfi?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it talking to me about him. But he was mentioned in passing."

Loki hummed, "Still. I'm glad he's talking about him."

Tony ran his fingers through Loki's hair—which he still hadn't let him braid—and waited for him to continue.

"Saying that Narfi was very good at any sort of magic is a bit of an overstatement."

"That's not very nice."

"Maybe not, but it's true. It also never bothered him. What he lacked in magic he made up with other skills. He was especially gifted at navigating using stars. And really, any sort of watercraft. Boats, ships, rafts. If he wished a vessel to make it to shore safely, they would, even in the worst of storms."

Tony considered that for a moment. "Is that what he was a god of? Ships and navigation?"

"Possibly," Loki offered. "He was young yet, so it's hard to say for certain."

"Oh." He set his phone to the side and looked down at Loki. "Have you two watched the movie before?"

"A few times."

"And he keeps wanting to watch it, even though it makes him sad?"

"Yes."

"Huh." Tony drummed his fingers against Loki's chest. "Well, that's better than nothing. Does he talk to you about Narfi at all?"

"Rarely. Mostly stray comments, in passing, like you said."

Tony nodded. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Does the movie make you sad? Do you need to talk about things?"

Loki huffed at him. "It makes me… nostalgic, I suppose. I miss Narfi, but the wounds aren't as fresh for me. I've had the chance to grieve and mourn." He fell quiet for a moment. "Honestly, until only a few months ago I didn't think I would ever see any of my children again."

"I'm glad you were wrong."

The god smiled up at him. "Me too."

**Author's Note:**

> Loki, later (hopefully): "Also, you really shouldn't throw fire at humans. They're not nearly as resilient as us."
> 
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